Lone Wolf splashes back to state

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Lone Wolf splashes back to state

February 16, 2026 by David Svien

Finn Price visualizes success. (Photo courtesy Rachel Price-Rayner)

The news came late but was just what everyone wanted to hear.

After originally thinking he had barely missed out on qualifying for state, Coupeville High School swimmer Finn Price earned a wild card berth in the 50 free Sunday night and will head to next weekend’s season-capping event in Seattle.

The boys swim/dive championships go down Feb. 20-21 at the King County Aquatic Center.

Price, a CHS senior, is making his third trip to state and will compete in the 1A/2A portion of the meet.

Nabbing the wild card berth at the last moment capped a wild weekend in which the Wolf water ace competed in both the 50 and 100 free at the District 1 meet in Anacortes.

Price won his heat in the 100 Friday but was narrowly edged out Saturday in both of his events while swimming against a very-fast field of competitors.

Coupeville, a 2B school, doesn’t have a pool or swim program of its own, so for the last four years Price has made frequent trips off-Island to train and compete with 4A Mukilteo.

He then goes his own way during the postseason, qualifying for state in both the 100 and 200 as both a sophomore and junior.

Once he wraps his prep pool career next weekend, Price will turn his sights towards making the leap to the next level.

He will join the swim program at Whitman College next year, having been recruited by one of the top athletic schools in NCAA D-III.

Jennifer Blomme, who leads Whitman’s men’s and women’s aquatic programs, is a 15-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year and was very impressed with Price’s times, plus the effort required to even get in the pool while living in the middle of nowhere.

As the Lone Wolf preps for one final visit to the King County Aquatic Center, his future couldn’t be brighter.

“He’s proud of his high school swim career as he should be,” said mom Rachel Price-Rayner.

“He’s looking forward to seeing how he can improve in college with year-round coaching and a ten-minute commute,” she added with a laugh.